He finished all 2,660 miles, from Mexico and Canada, in 53 days, 6 hours and 37 minutes

Yesterday, Joe McConaughy reached the Canadian border at 12:02 p.m.—53 days, 6 hours and 37 minutes after he set out on the Pacific Crest Trail from Campo, Calif., on June 18. That's a new record—the fastest known time that anyone has ever covered the entire trail. He beat the previous record of 59 days, 8 hour and 4 minutes by almost a week.

As Smithsonianwrote earlier this summer, there's no trophy for this kind of accomplishment, or even an official record keeper. McConaughy set out not just to beat the record but to raise money for CancerCare, in honor of his cousin's son, who died at age 2 from cancer. He's raised more than $27,600.

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About Sarah Laskow

Sarah Laskow is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor of Smart News. Her work has appeared in print and online for Grist, GOOD, Salon, The American Prospect, Newsweek, New York among other publications.